Living Memories
by GW-Imp
Summary: Duo is viciously murdered. They say that until a person's forgotten, they're never really gone. But what do you do when more than the person's memory is living on? Bonus chapter added! Zechs!!
1. The Death of Death

This fic is dedicated to Shadow of a Rose who I feel I know but whom I've never met. Thank you for reading my writing!

I obviously don't own Gundam Wing or its characters, but I DO own my brain and all of the ideas that come out of it! So there!

Living Memories

1. The Death of Death

          The four surviving Gundam pilots, Heero, Trowa, Wufei and Quatre, stood silently staring at the grave of their dear friend and trusted teammate, Duo Maxwell. (Hey! You can't get mad already! He might not be as dead as you think!) There was nothing special about the grave. It was a simple square block with only Duo's name and the years which he had lived. It didn't even have his alias, Shinigami, on it. The four of them just stood there and watched as rain drops began to splatter on the grassless soil. They were so shocked that they couldn't move. None of them could believe that Duo was actually gone. It had all happened so quickly…

_Flashback:_

          Zechs held the back of Duo's ripped shirt firmly in one hand and a fully loaded pistol to his head with the other. Duo was in horrible shape. His left eye was swollen so much that his eyeball couldn't even be seen, even though the eyelid was open. It was also such a deep purple that it looked black – hence the term 'black eye'. His clothes were so torn that they could barely even be _called clothes anymore. Patches of his once beautiful chestnut colored hair were missing from his head and the hair that remained was filthy, caked with dirt and matted with dried blood. There were huge scars and deep gashes lining both his arms and legs and one of his arms hung limply at an odd angle, as it had been broken. Despite all of the injuries he had suffered, Duo still fought Zechs rigorously with every ounce of strength he had in him. Heero glared angrily at Zechs, remaining as defiant as Duo._

          "Tell me the codes!" Zechs demanded. 

          "Never." Heero growled. He couldn't attack Zechs, or he would have already. He was standing quite a way away, very much out of arm's length. He was surrounded by Zech's soldiers also. He didn't really care about the men around him, even though they all had automatic machine guns aimed at his head. What he cared about was the fact that Zechs would shoot Duo before he could reach him if he did decide to attack. Zechs shook Duo violently and cocked the pistol.

          "Tell me or he dies, right here, right now."

          "Don't tell him, Heero!" Duo cried. Zechs slapped Duo across his face with the pistol, leaving yet another cut on his cheek.

          "Shut up!" he hissed at Duo. Heero was at a loss. He couldn't give Zechs the codes to the Zero system; it contained information that was much too important. But could he be so heartless as to let Duo be killed? And possibly his other friends after that? They were not very expendable, each being Gundam pilots. Duo was in particular a large part of the team. His was the only Gundam on their team with stealth technology. He was also the main repair technician for their Gundams. Without him, they would risk exposure by having to take their Gundams to a government mechanic. So no, Duo was not expendable. But neither was the Zero system. So what could he do?

          "I see you have made your choice." Zechs said. Heero could see his finger tensing and pulling back.

          "Wait!" Heero called. Zechs' finger loosened. He looked up at Heero. "I'll…I'll tell you." Heero told him. A smiled formed on Zechs' face. "The first code is 52AFG – 256T. The second one is 53AFG – 267P." 

          "Those had better not be fake codes." Zechs warned him.

          "They're not. They're real." Heero replied. "Now let him go." Zechs motioned to two soldiers near Heero.

          "Scan him." he ordered. The soldiers waved two metal rods around Heero's head and chest.

          "Brain waves normal." One said.

          "Heart rate normal. Blood temperature normal." Said the other. The men had scanned Heero to see if he was lying. The codes _had been real – at one time. Heero had changed them quite a few times since then. But __they didn't know that._

          "Thank you, mister Perfect Soldier. You've been a very big help to me." Zechs turned his attention back to Duo. Heero watched as Zechs' finger began to tense again.

          "What are you doing?!" Heero demanded. "I told you the codes! You said –!"

          "I know what I said." Zechs snickered. "It was a lie."

          "Heero!" Duo called in desperation.

          "Nooooooooooo!" The gun fired. Heero tried to run to Duo but was grabbed violently by the men surrounding him. The other three Gundam pilots, who had also been present, tried to attack Zechs, being closer to him than Heero, but they too were subdued by Zechs' soldiers. Duo's limp body fell to the ground, a gaping hole in the side of his head and an expression of complete horror forever etched on his young and innocent face. After being severely beaten, the four remaining Gundam pilots had been left, along with Duo's body, on the grass that covered the empty field where this unlawful event had just taken place.

_End Flashback_

          Fortunately, the four still breathing pilots had managed to get back to their safe house before Zechs had discovered that the codes weren't real. They had taken Duo's body along with them so he could be given a funeral. Quatre had enough money to provide Duo with such, but hardly anyone came, since Duo had not been allowed to make many friends; as a Gundam pilot, it was necessary to maintain a low profile. At the end of the service, Duo's friends had stood near his grave, just as they were doing now. Quatre laid his flowers on the damp soil, a tear indistinguishable from the rain on his face running down his cheek.

          "We'd better go." Heero told them in his usual monotone voice. He was actually just saying it to be saying something. He didn't even turn to leave. Neither did any of the other pilots. But after a while, the rain drove them away and though they were reluctant to leave, they did, hoping that they were leaving Duo to rest in peace.

_Where am I? How did I get here? Them…they did this to me…it's their fault…they must pay for what they did to me…_

          Since their capture by Zechs' army, the remaining pilots had relocated to one of Quatre's many mansions. It was in a very desolate and remote area, perfect for keeping secrets such as enormous Gundams. The mansion had a great deal of rooms so each of the pilots had their own room. They each retired to their rooms to busy themselves so they wouldn't think about the recent loss. Wufei sat quietly meditating in his room, becoming more than slightly disturbed by the fact that Duo would never burst in and interrupt one of his meditations ever again. He felt a light, cold breeze blow through the room. He didn't open his eyes, but he stopped to listen intently. Hearing nothing, he returned to his meditation. A stronger and even colder gust of wind filled the room, extinguishing some of his candles. This time he opened his eyes and gazed about the room. He saw no one but he felt as though he was being watched. Without warning, a huge blast of icy wind hit him full on from every angle and all of the candles went out. He was left in darkness. He jumped up, senses alert and katana in hand. He spun around wildly at a noise behind him. Then he saw that the window was open. He cursed angrily and went to shut it. Afterwards, he stalked out of the room and down to the kitchen, feeling too shaken to continue his meditating. He knew it had only been the wind, but that didn't change what he had heard on it. A faint whisper, a chilling message even colder than the wind. _Wuffers… it had said._

*Does that give away too much? I dunno. Did anybody like that? What about you Shadow of a Rose? Stay tuned for the next chapter!* 


	2. Forget Me Not

I checked my fic and there was a flame review on it. It's gone now, I don't know how that happened so I had to take out all the stuff I had put in this chapter to get back at that person. Darn.

2. Forget me not

          Wufei told no one of the strange wind as he and the other three pilots sat around Quatre's huge table for dinner. There was hardly any sound as the four war-waging teens ate. Though the food was delicious, no one really tasted it – they were all too deep in thought. Though their thoughts differed, they all had the same thing on their minds – Duo. All of them felt that they had in some way contributed to Duo's death. Heero was positive that he could have saved Duo. If only he hadn't hesitated… Quatre secretly believed that he should've been killed instead. After all, Zechs was originally going to have _him tortured but since he was so well known and held a very high position on Earth's social ladder, Zechs had been forced to choose someone of… __lesser value, to put it bluntly. Zechs could just as easily have tortured one of the other two, Wufei or Trowa, and he did, but they could resist the torture just as well as Heero so it aroused no sympathy in the blandness of the Perfect Soldier's heart. Wufei 'knew' that he could've taken out the soldiers that had held him. Even though they had been older and stronger in real life, in his mind, his martial arts skills could have prevailed, even without his katana. Then there was Trowa, who didn't feel terribly guilty, but was saddened by the fact that Duo was gone. He still felt, though, that somehow, he could have helped Duo. He was the oldest and tallest pilot and he had had a better chance at beating up one or more of the soldiers than any of the other pilots. So they all sat at the table, feeling guilty and making painful endeavors to eat the steadily cooling food on their plates. The silence was thunderous. It was storming outside but inside, there wasn't a thing to be heard. Finally, Quatre could take the silence no longer._

          "So did you get any new missions?" Quatre asked Heero. Heero shook his head. Quatre desperately tried to think of something that Heero would actually have to respond to.

          "So what will we do tomorrow?" he asked. Heero shrugged. Quatre sighed. He wasn't going to get anyone to talk. So he decided that he'd turn on some music. He got up and walked into one the various halls leading to other wings of the mansion. There was a large stereo system in it. He opened the CD changer with the push of a button and turned to find a nice CD to play. There were speakers positioned throughout the mansion, so he'd be able to hear it wherever he went. He found one of his favorites then turned to place it in the CD changer. It was closed.

          "Huh?" Quatre stared at the device for a moment then pressed the button to open it again. It didn't open. "What's wrong with this thing?" Quatre furiously pressed the button again and again. Finally, the CD changer opened. Quatre placed the CD inside and pressed the play button. Soft music began to flow through the speakers.

          "That's much better." Quatre said to himself. Smiling, Quatre turned and walked back into the dining room. The music was still playing peacefully when he sat at the table again. The pilots continued to eat. Suddenly the CD player went crazy. There was a dramatic screeching as the CD stopped then a jumble of sounds as the stereo sifted through various songs. Finally it settled on one.

          "THIS IS MY LAST RESORT!" blasted through the speakers, shaking the floor it was so loud.

          "Quatre, what IS that!?!" Wufei demanded, screaming over the incredible volume of the so called music.

          "I don't know! That's not what I put on!" Quatre screamed back.

          "Nevermind! I don't CARE what it is, just turn it off!" Quatre ran to the stereo he had just visited and tried to turn it off. It kept right on playing. Quatre unplugged it and still, it kept pumping out the racket. It stopped only after it had been shot several times by Heero. Everyone let out a sigh of relief. Quatre didn't mind the fact that his stereo had been destroyed; he could always buy another one. 

          "Well I guess we won't be listening to any music tonight." Quatre said. The lights went out. "Or doing anything else that requires electricity." 

          "The storm must've cut the power." Trowa observed. Thunder sounded outside and lightning lit up the hallway. They weren't sure, but the four boys thought they heard a rather high-pitched giggle echo through the building after the sound of the thunder had passed. They all looked to each other for an explanation, but nobody had an answer to the unvoiced question. 

          "Um, maybe we should light some candles." Quatre suggested. The others nodded in agreement and set to doing that. Though Wufei had strongly protested, his candles were taken from his room and spread throughout the mansion. At the current moment in time, he was walking around gathering his precious meditation tools, able to carry only two at a time because they were all lit and hot, melted wax was dripping from them.

          "Ignorant fools." he murmured to himself as he found yet another of his candles. "Using my meditation candles for a stupid blackout. What kind of an _onna needs light anyway? I can see perfectly fine without it. Have they no idea how __expensive these are? This is an injustice. I shouldn't have to go around looking for my own possessions. Injustice…" Wufei was climbing a small flight of stairs and had almost reached the top when he heard a faint sound. He gazed around, trying to discern the direction of the noise but he couldn't figure it out. He shrugged it off and continued on but he heard it again – a light scraping sound like fingernails on a chalk board. This time, he was able to deduce that it had come from an empty guest room. '__I can go see what it was' he thought to himself. '__Or I can just ignore it, considering that it was probably nothing anyway.' Figuring that his candles were slowly melting into small puddles by that time, he turned in the opposite direction and resumed his search._

          "_Wufei…" a voice rasped. Wufei felt the hairs on the back of his neck rise. He whipped around, straining to see in the dark. It seemed as though he __did need light, after all. "Wufei!" The voice repeated. This time he recognized it. It was Quatre. He relaxed then walked towards the room to check on Quatre. Wufei entered the room and saw Quatre trailing his finger along the wall._

          "What is it, Quatre?" Wufei demanded, anxious to continue looking for his candles. Quatre turned his head to face Wufei. There were tears in his eyes.

          "I can't stop…" he sobbed.

          "You can't stop _what? What are you doing?"_

          "I came in here to find some more candles…and I saw something on the wall…oh God, it hurts, Wufei! Make it stop! Please make it stop!" Wufei finally stepped forward enough for the candle's light to hit the wall and he finally saw what it was that Quatre had been doing. He was using his right index finger to scratch "4-get" into the wall. His fingernail was almost completely pulled off and blood stained the letters he had carved into the wall. Wufei nearly dropped the candle he was holding when he saw this. Quatre tried to pull away from the wall, but his hand wouldn't move away, it just kept tracing over the word. Wufei grabbed Quatre around the waist with one arm and took his arm in his other hand. Together they pulled until finally, Quatre's arm came free from whatever was holding it and they fell onto the dust-covered floor of the room. Luckily, Wufei had put down his candle first. After 'rescuing' Quatre, he stood, brushed himself off and picked up his candle.

          "Thank you so much, Wufei!" Quatre exclaimed. "I don't think I would've been able to take that much longer."

          "Yeah, yeah, whatever. You better bandage that." Wufei turned to leave but Quatre stopped him.

          "Don't you think that was strange?" he asked. '_Of course I think that was strange' Wufei thought. '__Who wouldn't?' But would he admit that he had been freaked out by a crazy onna's actions to that very onna? No, not in __this life._

          "It was…a bit out of the ordinary." Wufei grunted then left the room.

*Um…I'd like to take this moment to uh…_apologize to the person that wrote the first review. It has occurred to me that you probably weren't trying to be rude but that you were just trying to help. I'm still not changing the first chapter, but I will take your…__input into consideration as I continue this. Sorry. Please don't stop reading my fic! I'm just a little sensitive. ^_^ '     _


	3. Giggles in the Dark

So somebody likes this eh? Well, I guess you can see the next chapter. Thanx a bunch for readin' it!

3. Giggles in the Dark

          Not surprisingly, Heero sat in the midst of the soft glow of candles and typed on his laptop. His laptop had been fully charged before the blackout and could function two full hours before needing to be recharged again, unlike most laptops which could only work for one hour before being recharged. Thus, Heero defied the electrical loss Quatre's mansion had suffered and wrote up a mission report. He finished in record time and decided to check his e-mail. There was one message from someone called "2theMax". Heero raised a questioning eyebrow and opened the mail. There were only three words in it. _Whacha doin', Heero? The screen went blank after Heero read this. It wasn't black as though it were off, but white instead, like a blank typing document. Words typed themselves on the monitor._

_Hey, Heero. Heero hit the escape button but it did nothing._

_That's just like you. You always try to escape what you don't understand. Heero decided to type a response._

Who is this?_ He typed._

_I think you know. Was the mysterious person's reply._

Don't play with me.

_Oh, look at the Perfect Soldier and his empty threats. I play with whom I please._

Get off of my computer.

_You can't tell, but I'm laughing at you. I know you can't do anything to me._

Who the hell are you?!

_What's the matter, Mr. P.S.? Are you getting scared?_

Zechs? Is that you? I didn't give you real codes, so how did you hack my computer?

_You're very funny when you're scared. I like seeing you scared._

What do you mean_ seeing__? Where are you?___

_Yes, Heero, I can see you. But you can't see me._

Who is this?! Where are you?!

_I'm surprised you're using exclamation points. You usually try not to show any emotion, especially when you're killing._

_  WHO ARE YOU!?!_

_Ooh, did I strike a nerve? You like to kill, don't you?_

When I find you, you will pay for this.

_Yes, you do like to kill. I know you do. I've seen the look in your eyes when you do it. I might even go so far as to say you LOVE killing. You're a cold blooded murderer._

I am not a murderer; I do what needs to be done.

_Murderer. Murderer. Murderer. Murderer. Murderer. Murderer. Murderer. Murderer. Murderer. Murderer. Murderer. Murderer. Murderer. Murderer._

_Murderer. Murde- The word just continued to type itself onto the screen until it had taken up nearly two pages. Then finally new words appeared._

_Look up on the wall behind you, Heero. Reluctantly, Heero turned to glance at the said wall. There was blood dripping from it, spelling out the word murderer. Heero spun back around angrily to type a heated response, but his computer was off. He watched as a thick crimson-hued liquid began to ooze up through the keys. It spilled over the edge of the table and into Heero's lap. Heero jumped up creating a loud splash as he sloshed through the rising blood that he hadn't even realized was there. He froze and strained his ears to hear a growing sound. The walls were creaking as if some immense amount of pressure was building behind them. Heero turned to the door only to see it bending and blood gushing under it into the room. The liquid was now up to Heero's knees and now even the ceiling was caving in. He spun wildly around and around, desperately searching for a way out of the collapsing room. The walls screamed from the growing pressure as they began to split and fall. Debris from the ceiling dropped into Heero's head, making him appear ghostly white then a light red color as drops of blood found their way through the resulting holes. Heero knew that if he opened the door, the blood on the other side would push him back and he would drown, never even getting a chance to get through the door – but he didn't care. He struggled through the now waist-high liquid to the door whose hinges were being torn mercilessly from their positions in the wall. He felt for the knob, found it and turned. The door was locked. Heero pounded furiously on the door and called for the other pilots. The other pilots, however, couldn't hear anything coming from the area Heero happened to be in and they just went about their own business. All except Trowa, who just happened to pass the study – which was where Heero was at – at that very moment. He still heard nothing, but that's what held him there. He knew that Heero had gone into the study to type…so why wasn't he typing? Heero ran a blood-covered hand through his hair and at last grasped a truly welcome hair pin. He endeavored to pick the door's lock only to discover that the door locked from the side he was on. The ruby-red fluid now past the Wing pilot's elbows, he attempted to unlock the door. His hand slipped numerous times and when he finally had a good firm grip on the lock, he found it wouldn't turn. _

          "Turn, damn you! TURN!!" Heero fumed. The walls and ceiling gave at last. Heero ducked, throwing his hands over his head, waiting for the mass of blood and bricks to hit him – but it never did. Heero jumped as the door opened and Trowa entered the room that was the study. Trowa was shocked, to say the least, at what he saw. Heero was curled up into a tiny shivering ball on the floor, his arms around his head. Trowa glanced at Heero's laptop. There was an army of miniature Wing Zero's flying across the screen – that was the screen saver.

          "Heero?" Trowa called. Heero seemed to recognize his voice and stopped his violent trembling. He sat up and turned slightly to see if it was indeed Trowa who had spoken. When his eyes confirmed that it was, he blushed hideously, fury rising in his chest – not at Trowa, but at the fact that he had been seen in a moment of weakness. He stood, checked himself for blood stains and, finding none, huffed out of the room. But he stopped about a foot away from Trowa after he had passed him.

          "Tell _no one." he growled. Trowa said nothing. He simply stared at the still open laptop on the table in the center of the study and watched it shut down as the last of its precious reserved energy faded leaving it with nothing to function on._

***

          Trowa retired to his quarters to contemplate the strange events he was witnessing. The first unusual thing that he'd seen that night was Quatre's CD player going crazy. After that he'd seen Heero curled up on the floor in fear. That was _definitely unusual. He, like some of the other pilots, didn't know anything about the strange voice Wufei had heard or what Quatre had been scratching into the wall so he didn't muse over those two happenings; the other two were enough to grab his attention anyway. He was still thinking about it when someone padded quietly into his room. _

          "Hey, Trowa." the timid young blonde said. There was something strange about his voice…it didn't sound timid at all.

          "Hey." Trowa grunted. Quatre moved further into the dormitory, his bare feet sweeping gracefully and without sound across the carpeting.

          "Were you…_thinking about something?" Quatre inquired, ever so innocently. Trowa nodded. Quatre slipped onto the bed, his weight pulling it down only slightly. He stared intently into Trowa's only visible emerald of an eye, his own bright blue eyes glinting oddly in the light of the candles._

          "Who were you thinking about?" he asked, a feral smile forming on his lips.

          "Why do you think I was thinking about a person?" Trowa asked carefully. Quatre leaned towards him, the expression on his face bordering on insane.

          "Because I know…" he whispered. The candles were snuffed out instantly. Lightning illuminated the room and Trowa saw that Quatre had changed. His hair was long and dark his eyes were wide and there was an insane grin plastered on his face. He spoke in a voice that wasn't his own, but that still sounded familiar. "_…that you were thinking about me." Icy fingers wrapped themselves around Trowa's throat and he was wrestled to the floor. Trowa reached out for the body that belonged to the hands but he felt nothing but freezing air. He couldn't even feel that hands that were choking him. He heard maniacal giggling as consciousness slowly began to leave him. His eyelids were dropping…he couldn't hold on much longer…_

          "Trowa?" The hands vanished and light came back to Trowa's eyes. Trowa lay on the floor gasping and staring up at the ceiling. A moment later, the face of the _real Quatre entered his field of vision._

          "Trowa, are you okay?" he asked. Trowa shook his head then rolled over and expelled his dinner.

*Hmm…I dunno. How's this turnin' out? Anybody still interested? No? Oh well. I'm still gonna keep writin' it.*   


	4. Playful Terror

Wow! I can't believe it! This story has more reviews than my first one – which is called "Evil Quatre" by the way. (Shameless plugging) I'm glad people are beginning to question why the entity is attacking the remaining GW-boys. Pay close attention or the end will go right over your heads. 

4. Playful Terror

          Even with the outrageous events that had happened, the four pilots refused to admit that something other worldly was going on. Quatre came closest to admitting that there was definitely something amiss, but he didn't want to be viewed as weak – or crazy, as the events were leading them to believe they were becoming. But even that theory was being frowned upon. So with little – if any – peace of mind, they retreated to their soft, plush beds to escape into soothing dreams. Heero lay gently snoring on his bed, buried under a pile of blankets to ward off the chilly storm air. He was even wearing pajama pants and a matching, buttoned up, long-sleeved shirt, it was so cold. He stirred slightly at the sound of his name being called. He blinked groggily when he was called again.

          "Shut up…" he mumbled sleepily. The sound of pleased giggling drifted into his ears. This caused him to snap open his eyes. He listened attentively to his surroundings. He heard feet falling softly on the carpet. In a split second Heero was sitting up with his gun arm outstretched. The figure moved closer to him and lightly touched his hand. Heero's gun fell from his grip as his hand went numb. He was going to pick it up with his other hand but the transparent being took his chin in its hand, numbing his whole torso. The figure pushed him back down onto the bed. It ran a freezing hand through his hair. This numbed the remainder of Heero's body, and the blankets weren't helping. The creature leaned forward and took in Heero's scent.

          "_Heero…" it sighed contentedly. Heero stared hard at the figure, trying to make out some sort of face or anything that might reveal its identity, but he could barely even see the shape of it. It was as if it was there, but it __wasn't there at the same time. _

          "_You're the Perfect Soldier, are you not?" the creature continued, its tone of voice denying the presence of a stable mind. "__And…you've had a lot of torture-resisting training, haven't you? I don't think I've ever heard you cry out in pain…" Heero watched as the creature pulled a gleaming knife from the shadowed recesses of its body. It slid its fingers along the blade as if to test its sharpness. "__I wonder, Heero. Oh how the question doth nag at my mind… could I? Would I? Should I try to make you cry out in pain? How much of your body would I have to destroy to make you scream? Because I DO want to hear you scream…let's just find out the answer to my question." The figure lowered the knife to Heero's chest then in one clean motion, sliced the buttons right off of his shirt. Heero couldn't even tilt his head down to see what the creature was doing. But he could feel the tip of the knife slicing through his abdomen. He would have winced slightly, but his entire face had gone numb. The knife cut deeper into his flesh._

          "_Can you feel it, Heero? Or is your body too numb? Maybe you should feel what I felt. Yes…why don't you feel the pain that I had to feel when you let him kill me?" The figure picked Heero's gun off the floor and dangled it above his head. "__Go on. Take it. Do what you should've done when you let me die." Heero reached for the gun hesitantly, the feeling having returned to his body. Still staring at the ceiling, he placed the barrel of the gun on the side of his head._

          "I can't…" he murmured.

          "_Yes you can. You should, too. You don't deserve to live after what you let him do to me. You could have saved me. But you didn't."_

          "I don't deserve to live…"

          "_That's right. You shouldn't have hesitated."_

          "I shouldn't have hesitated…"

          "_You let him kill me."_

          "I let him kill you…"

          "_It's your fault I died."_

          "It's my fault you died…"

          "_Now you have to die."_

          "I have to die…gomen nasai, Shinigami…" Heero was just about to pull the trigger when the gun was snatched from his hand. Heero blinked and shook his head to clear his mind. He sat up to see Wufei glaring at him and Trowa and Quatre behind him.

          "See, I told you." Quatre said, with a nod to emphasize whatever point he had made.

          "What's happening?" Heero demanded, still trying to clear his mind.

          "Someone or some_thing is trying to get us to kill ourselves." Wufei informed him. "I alone have not been affected."_

          "Oh please, you almost beheaded yourself with your own sword." Quatre stated sounding rather annoyed.

          "Yes, but _I was able to stop __myself. I'm the one that stopped all of __you." Heero glanced at Quatre, wondering what his method of suicide was going to be. Quatre seemed to sense Heero's question._

          "I was…going to jump…off of the balcony." he admitted.

          "The one on the _fourth floor." Wufei added. Heero then turned his gaze to Trowa. Trowa only returned a very silent and very stern stare._

          "He was going to shoot himself, like you." Quatre supplied.

          "With his Gundam. _While he was inside of it." Trowa glared at Wufei._

          "How did you stop _that?"_

          "Gawd, I had to use _my Gundam. I'm just glad you were going for something simple, though I __thought you'd be strong enough to break free yourself."_

          "But you were wrong." Quatre sniffed. '_So that was the point he had made.' Heero thought. Then Heero remembered how the figure had been cutting into his stomach. He looked down at his midsection and found it covered in blood. This surprised him greatly – he had thought that the knife wasn't real. He leaned a bit to the side and saw the blood-stained knife under the folds of his blankets. '__How did that get in here?' he wondered. He squinted and stared carefully at the designs that had been carved into his chest. They were letters…and one number, it appeared. They spelled out the same message that Quatre had been scraping into the wall with his finger – "4-get". All four of the boys spoke the question in unison._

          "Forget _what?"_

***

          Fearing another attempt at suicide, Heero, Wufei, Quatre and Trowa congregated in the dining room. They each shared their own strange experience and discussed possible courses of action.

          "There's no reason to deny it anymore." Quatre was saying. "We all know who is doing this to us. The question is, why?"

          "It can't be Maxwell. He's dead. We all know that, too." Wufei argued.

          "It's his ghost." Trowa mumbled, stating what had become very obvious.

          "There're no such things as ghosts. And even if he _was a ghost, why would he be haunting __us? After all, it was Zechs who killed him."_

          "That's what I was saying - ." Quatre was interrupted by soft chuckling coming from his right. He glanced in the direction of the sound but saw only Heero and he knew that Heero hadn't laughed. "So how do you explain that, Wufei?" he continued. Wufei opened his mouth to speak and was cut off by another bout of laughing, this time louder and stronger. He saw Heero cover his mouth out of the corner of his eye.

          "What's wrong with you, Yui?" he asked. Heero tried to curse in Japanese only to be drawn into yet another giggle fit. 

          "Heero, are you - ." Quatre began. A huge belch sounded from within his chest. "Oh my. E-excuse me!" he apologized, blushing.

          "What's happening here?!" Wufei demanded. Suddenly Trowa launched into a long run-on sentence.

          "It's very plain that they're being controlled by Duo's ghost and I think that I am too because you know I don't usually talk this much and Heero doesn't laugh and I have to say that I've never heard Quatre burp so loudly in my entire life and I hope that I can stop this sentence soon because I'm running out of air and - ." He continued as Heero doubled over in his laughter, pounding furiously on the table. Quatre began burping the alphabet causing Heero to laugh even harder.

          "Would you all stop this, please? Come on, we've got to regain control - ." Wufei smacked his forehead as he realized that he too was being controlled by Duo's ghost. Music mysteriously started to blast through the speakers in the mansion.

          "OH, DO A LITTLE DANCE! MAKE A LITTLE NOISE! GET DOWN TO-NIGHT! UH HUH! GET DOWN TO-NIGHT!" All four of the boys hopped out of their chairs and began dancing around the table.

          "We…have to…get out…" Heero wheezed. They danced toward the front door and tried to open it. It wouldn't open. Heero and Trowa were getting dizzy from lack of oxygen and Quatre was having unbearable gas pains. Wufei turned his head to the ceiling and yelled,

          "Duo Maxwell, you get down here this instant!" 'Gawd, I sound like a mother.' he thought to himself. Insane, high-octave giggling echoed through the house. A small tornado formed in the middle of the boys. It shrank until it disappeared, leaving behind a young boy about the age of fifteen with a long chestnut colored braid, wearing all black and a matching baseball cap on his head. He was grinning evilly with his hands on his hips.

          "Did you miss me?" the apparition that was Duo asked.

          "Duo, please stop this. I believe you now. We're all very sorry." Wufei pleaded, disgusted with the words escaping his mouth.

          "Yeah, yeah, I'm real sorry for you. There's nothing I can do."

          "Well you can at least stop this, can't you?" Wufei asked, gesturing towards the incapacitated pilots on the floor.

          "I can stop it temporarily." Duo answered. He waved a hand in the direction of the three other pilots on the floor. Instantly, they returned to normal. Wufei did too and he instinctively drew his katana and lunged at Duo for making him sound like a sissy. Duo only laughed as Wufei passed through him and fell to the floor.

          "Why are you doing this to us?" Quatre asked, hurt that his friend would want them to go through so much.

          "You're doing this to yourselves." Duo replied matter-of-factly. Quatre shook his head.

          "I don't understand." he said.

          "Neither do I. I don't see why you guys just can't forget."

          "Forget _WHAT?!" Everyone exclaimed._

          "Just try to forget, or we'll all be stuck here forever."

          "FORGET _WHAT!?!" But they never got an answer because Duo disappeared again._

          "I just don't understand. What is it that we're supposed to forget?" Quatre wondered aloud. There was no response. He glanced around himself. He was alone. '_Where'd everyone go?' A chill ran down Quatre's spine as he heard that same crazed laughter echo through the halls of his mansion. A cold voice whispered darkly into the depths of his mind._

          "_They've gone to Hell. Just – like – you."_

*I dunno about that chapter. It was the longest so far, but I think it was pretty weak. Hmm…I promise the next few chapters will have more action. I just keep getting some sort of writer's block. But don't worry, it's a mild case – I should be able to get over it. 'Oh God, no body's gonna keep reading _this crap…'*    _


	5. Blondes Have More Blood

Geez! It's about _time somebody submitted another review! Thank you, Little Devil, whoever you are. Man, I started writing a whole other fic because I thought no one was still reading this! Okay, here's the next chapter._

5. Blondes have more blood

          Quatre stood warily and started to walk forward. He wrung his hands nervously, jumping at every creak and crack he heard. 

          "T-Trowa…" he called weakly. "Heero? Anybody?" Quatre didn't plan a course, he simply let his feet carry him forward and he soon found himself at the bottom of a flight of stairs. He hesitated but hearing something behind him, he dashed up the stairs two at a time. After regaining control of himself, he stopped to take in his surroundings. He was in a corridor lined with torches that seemed to be endless. He knew this place…it was a hallway in his mansion – but not the mansion they were in. In between each torch was a door leading to a guest room and there was a richly colored scarlet rug running down the middle of the hallway. One really wouldn't have been able to tell that this hallway was in a very high quality home from its simple design. The walls were constructed of unpolished wood as were the ceiling and floor. Quatre stepped cautiously into the hall and walked to the first door on the left. He tried the door knob and found that it was open. Without thinking, Quatre walked into the room – and found himself back in the hallway, but now on the right side.

          "What - ? How - ?" Quatre stuttered. He spun back around to look through the door but it slammed shut in his face, nearly breaking his nose. Quatre stumbled backwards, staring at the door. He jumped wildly as another door opened behind him. It wasn't the same one he'd gone through, it was the next one down. Quatre shook his head at the inviting door and turned to go back down the stairs. He almost broke his nose again but halted before he made contact with the newly formed wall that had appeared. He back-tracked so far that he actually became parallel to the open door. He stole a glance inside and saw that there was an actual bedroom through the passage. Taking one last look at the wall where the stairs had been, Quatre entered the room. He looked at the right half of the room first. The far wall was not a wall at all but a mirror instead. It reflected a hallway exactly like the one he'd just come from. Stepping further into the room, Quatre looked in the other direction. Sure enough, he saw the hallway that he'd just come from and when he turned back to the mirror, there wasn't a mirror anymore, just endless hallway.

          "What is _happening here?!" Quatre demanded of the open space. He was answered with a resounding giggle. Yet another door opened. Trowa stepped through it. Quatre was overjoyed at the sight. He ran to his protector smiling broadly and gave him a slight hug._

          "I'm so happy to see you Trowa! I thought I would _never find anybody!" Quatre cried ecstatically._

          "Yes, you found me…" Trowa said, his tone low and unfriendly. Quatre watched as he drew a pistol from his pocket. "But no one will ever find _you." Quatre pushed away from Trowa and back into someone's arms as another door swung open. He yanked away and pivoted to see who he'd run into. It was Heero. If possible, he looked even colder than usual._

          "Heero, there's something wrong with Trowa!" Quatre told him. Heero raised the barrel of his gun and aimed it straight at Quatre's head.

          "No, there's something wrong with _you. You're too weak, Quatre. We should've gotten rid of you long ago." Quatre sensed movement behind him. He ducked as Trowa attempted to grab him by the throat. Knowing there was a dead end in the direction of the stairs Quatre took off down the corridor to the door at the end of it. He had almost reached it when a final door burst open, hampering his path. Wufei walked calmly into the hallway, gun raised and a small smirk on his face._

          "I've wanted to do this for a long time." he sneered. Quatre turned the other way but Trowa and Heero were blocking his path. Whipping his head back and forth, he came to a realization – he was trapped. He felt around his pockets and belt for his own gun but it wasn't there. His friends moved in on him slowly, like a pack of hungry wolves whose hunt had come to an end. Quatre began to race back and forth to both sides of the hall frantically, trying to open each and every door he came to but they were all locked. Panic pounded furiously in his chest making sweat pour down his skin like buckets of water. Tears of icy fear were streaming down his cheeks as he tried to open another door. This one popped open and he fell forward into another pair of arms. He glanced up and screamed – 

*Okay! That's _that chapter. It's pretty short, but these next ones probably all will be. If the length __really bothers you, tell me and I'll put more in it and repost it. Also, I used two songs that I didn't disclaim, so I'll disclaim them now. I don't own Papa Roach's "Last Resort" nor do I own "Get Down Tonight" or whatever it's called, but I don't know __who owns that. Thanks!     _


	6. Silence

Okay, I finally wrote the next chapter. Gawd, the end is gonna be great, I promise you, but the individual pilot chapters are _killing me! Can I ask a favor of you all? If you review this story, could you put __all the words in English? I know maybe seven words in Japanese so when you write things in Japanese I have no idea what you're talking about. Thanks! ^_~\\//_

6. Silence

_          Yes, now they see. Now they know. They are beginning to realize… they are beginning to come… they are beginning to suffer…_

          Trowa sat up in a daze. '_Where am I?' he wondered. His surroundings looked vaguely familiar but he couldn't quite place it… His thoughts were rudely interrupted by a blast of light. A curtain had been abruptly drawn back letting the sun pour into Trowa's unadjusted eyes._

          "Hey!" a rough voice called. "You're on in five! Be – ready." With that, the curtain was whipped close and Trowa was able to open his eyes again. Glancing down at himself, he noticed that his clothes had changed. Upon closer examination his discovered that his clothes were actually _changing. The outfit stayed the same, a skin-tight leotard, but it kept changing colors. He cocked his head inquisitively and watched as the fabric darkened into purple then lightened into blue, melted into green and transformed to yellow to orange and to red…_

          "Wake up!" Yet another voice tore Trowa from his thoughts. Trowa jumped back in surprise, reaching instinctively for a gun that wasn't there. The over-comically painted face that had been directly in his line of vision had startled him. A yellow and red bike horn was honked in his face.

          "Who…" Trowa began, but he couldn't focus enough to finish.

          "Come on, we've got an act to do!" Trowa could now hear the feminine hint in the voice and realized that he was looking at a girl. He still didn't recognize her, though. She grinned at him then reached up and squeezed a huge red ball at the end of his nose. It squeaked comically. '_What the –?  That wasn't there before…' He observed silently. He was pulled off of what he'd come to realize was a bed and led through the curtain. He winced automatically, expecting to be hit with another beam of sun, but the place he entered was actually very dimly lit. Spotlights were circling over and through the audience._

          "And now ladies and gentlemen," a voice boomed throughout the big-top. "For your viewing pleasure, the amazing, death-defying knife-throwing act!" Excited cheers rose from the crowd. It _finally dawned on Trowa that he was back in the circus. He wondered why he hadn't realized it before. It didn't really make a difference, though. He had thrown knives plenty of times before, so that wouldn't be a problem. What bothered him was the question of how he had gotten back to the circus in the first place. Hands wrapped themselves harshly around his waist and he was lifted off of his feet._

          "Hey! Let me go!" he cried. He gasped at his tiny voice. He sounded so…_young. Trowa struggled futilely against the icy grips of his captors as he was strapped to a large red and white target. The young clown girl was standing a few feet in front of him, facing the crowd and bowing deeply. Trowa took in her costume, trying desperately to figure out who she was. Her outfit was much like his – a simple leotard – but hers was black and didn't become any other colors. She straightened from another bow, this time with her arm outstretched, and Trowa saw the freshly sharpened knives she was holding. Trowa felt a stab of cold dread in his stomach as he realized what was about to happen to him. A long mahogany colored braid fell from the over-sized baseball cap she was wearing. A pained expression of fear and anger came over Trowa's face._

          "No…" he hissed. "It can't be…" The girl started to turn slowly and it seemed as though all the sound in the big-top was being sucked toward her as she did so. She completed her turn quickly and there was silence. Trowa's suspicions were confirmed. The girl was actually Duo. Duo grinned evilly at Trowa, his malicious smile partially concealed by a large red ball on the end of his nose. That was all that remained of the clown make-up.

          "Are you surprised, Trowa?" Duo asked. Trowa glared in response. "You shouldn't be, by now." Duo squeaked the clown nose then removed it and threw it off to the side.

          "Why are you doing this?" Trowa demanded. Duo turned his attention to the knives he still held. He picked one out with his free hand and examined it.

          "That's a good question. But I have an even better question – why am I doing _this?" Duo hurled the knife through the air at Trowa. Trowa choked and spluttered in pain as the knife pierced his hand._

          "Duo…" he gasped. "Why won't you stop?" Duo selected another knife from his handful.

          "You stop first." Trowa ground his teeth together to keep from crying out as the knife sliced through his other hand.

          "What?! What do you want me to stop?! Tell me!!"

          "You could have saved me, Trowa." Duo sighed, taking aim with yet another of the sharp utensils. There was a clear whooshing sound as the knife flew perfectly and buried its blade in Trowa's thigh. Trowa choked back the roar of pain building in his chest. He had been injured a thousand times worse than this but for some reason this pain was becoming too much for him to bear. If only he had realized that it wasn't just physical, but emotional pain, too…

          "You let me die. Now you have to join me." Trowa coughed up blood as a knife entered his chest.

          "I couldn't…" he moaned.

          "Yes you could've. If you had tried…but you didn't even do _that. You didn't even __try to save me! You just stood there and __watched! What kind of a friend are __you?!" Trowa would have argued, but he did want to. Somehow, he felt that Duo was right. He __should have tried to save him. He didn't deserve to live any more than Duo had deserved to die._

          "So now you understand. Now you know why you have to die." Duo said. Trowa nodded. "I have one knife left, Trowa."

          "See you in Hell." Trowa grumbled. Duo smiled at his comment.

          "Haven't you figured it out, Trowa?" he giggled, drawing his arm back. "You're already there." The knife came straight for Trowa's face – then, silence.

*(Recording starts playing.) Hi, this is GW-Imp. I'm not here right now because I am currently running from an angry mob of Trowa fans. If you would like to say something about the fic or just generally yell at me for abusing Trowa, leave a review after the beep!*    
  


	7. Enter the "Dragon"

*Panting* I did it! I got away! They – they thought they could get me but I got away! I fought 'em all off. All of 'em; they were no match for the great GW-Imp! That's right, ya _barbarians!!!!!!! I stole Wufei's katana and cut up their insides! OH! I better give that back to Wufei for this chapter…but let that be a lesson to ya! v Hahahahahahaha……_

7. Enter the "Dragon"

          Wufei felt something tickling his face. He opened his eyes but they closed again in a sneeze. He had caught only a brief glimpse of his surroundings but from what he could tell, he was in a rather dry meadow. When he could finally open his eyes, he found out that he was half correct. He _was in a meadow but it wasn't just dry – it was completely dead. The stiff plants crunched noisily under his body as he sat up, sending ancient pollen and fragments of the breaking stems into the air. Sitting amongst the dead foliage, he checked himself over. He wasn't injured and he had his katana and all of his other belongings – except his shoes. He didn't ponder over the absence of his shoes very long, though. He gazed around at the field stretching before him. He felt as though he knew this place but something was keeping him from recognizing it. He turned sharply at a tiny sound behind him._

          "Who's th-?" he began but stopped short at the person lying on the ground. He knew _exactly who was there. The girl was badly injured. Her small space suit was torn and stained with blood and her hair was matted with the same scarlet substance. Wufei scrambled to her, never quite making it all the way to his feet, and knelt by her, taking her head in his arms. He brushed a few strands of her silky black hair out of her eyes as she coughed, splattering even more blood on her pale face._

          "Wufei…" she moaned weakly.

          "Meiran…" Wufei replied, his voice trembling slightly.

          "Why…why didn't you…stop me?" Wufei narrowed his eyes in confusion. That wasn't what Meiran had said…

          "I know why. It's because you are _weak…" Wufei's grip loosened at these words._

          "Meiran, why…?" 

          "You are too weak to protect anyone…you were too weak to protect me…and you were too weak to protect Duo…" Wufei let Meiran's head fall to the ground. She started to laugh at him, blood staining her teeth. Wufei jumped to his feet, the hard plants cutting into his flesh, and drew his sword from its position at his waist.

          "You are not my wife…" he growled. A freezing cold hand grabbed him by his chin and turned him around. He found himself staring right into Meiran's eyes.

          "I am all that you fear." she hissed. She pushed him onto his back and the dead plants began to wrap around his body, their jagged edges scraping his skin off. Duo stood over him, grinning.

          "Maxwell!" Wufei snarled. Duo giggled facetiously.

          "Are you having fun, Wu-man?"

          "You can't…you can't be doing this…you don't know this place. You don't know what happened here!"

          "I know everything that you know and more. Don't you see, Wufei? I _am you now. I control you. I control everything you think, everything you do – I control __you."_

          "No! I won't let you have me!" Wufei tensed his muscles, trying to break free of the vines holding him.

          "Don't fight it, there's no point. You'll have to give in eventually. Just admit that you couldn't protect me. Just say that you were weak. If you just give in, things will be much easier."

          "No! There was nothing I could do! I couldn't help you!"

          "Because you were weak…"

          "I was not weak!! There wasn't any way that I could have saved you!" Duo dropped to his knees and took Wufei's throat in his hand. He leaned frighteningly close to Wufei, his violet eyes burning into Wufei's.

          "I will make you watch it again, Wufei. I will make you watch your wife die and I will make you watch me die again and again and again. Admit that you were too weak to save me, or I will torture you to no end." Wufei opened his mouth to protest but Duo cut him off. "No, no, no, no. Don't argue with me, that won't do you any good. Admit, Wufei, or I will make you relive the pain – that isn't a threat, it's a _promise." Wufei squeezed his eyes shut, trying to escape the painful memories. Two people that he had known…two people that he had cared about…two people that he had let die…_

          "Yes, that's it. Realize the truth. You'll see how much easier it makes dying…" Wufei's eyes snapped open. His first concern was that Duo had said 'dying' but then he began to wonder how Duo had known he was starting to give in. He hadn't said anything out loud…

          "Are you ready to admit it now?" Duo asked, his smile having returned. Wufei sorted through his thoughts again. The problem was obviously him. He had let two people be killed right in front of him. With all his skills and abilities he should have been able to save both Meiran and Duo. It was all his fault. He _was weak, he __was worthless…he didn't deserve to live. It was perfectly clear to him now, everything was logical, every piece of the puzzle fit snugly. How could he argue with it?_

          "I was weak…I should have been able to save you…" Duo's grin became even wider at this statement.

          "You're also very weak-minded, Wu-man. You have just given up your soul to Death itself. In short – your ass is _mine." Wufei's eyes widened in horror as he felt the plants release him and he fell into a darkness that consumed him and swallowed the outraged and terrified scream that escaped his lips. He flipped face-down and watched as a solid wall of spikes flew up at him – but he didn't watch for long…_

*I don't really like this chapter. I just needed to get through it so that I could get to the end. Besides, I don't really know of anything good to use to torture Wufei. Well anyway, one more pilot to go! I'm sure you all know who _that is! Sorry about this chapter – don't be surprised if it gets reposted.*_


	8. Kyrie e Lei Son

Okay, this is it! I would like to thank everybody that read, especially those who reviewed. I would also like to thank my friends who I attend school with and my other good friend who I no longer attend school with. Lastly, I want to thank Shadow of a Rose for inspiring me to actually write and post this fic. Coming soon: "Virus"! That's a sci-fi one about Wufei! Thanks again!

8. Kyrie e lei son (Latin: God have mercy on our souls)

          Heero stumbled back slightly as Quatre fell into his arms screaming his head off. He watched in confusion as Quatre struggled away from him and crawled into a corner. There he sat rocking violently, holding his knees.

          "Quatre…" Heero's voice trailed off as Quatre shook his head and started rambling in some incomprehensible language. He looked for all the world like he'd gone insane. Heero attempted to approach him only to be stopped by his loud and panicked whimpering. He didn't want to believe that Quatre had lost his mind but everything about his manner said that he had. Suddenly Quatre began to murmur something that Heero understood.

          "It should've been me. It should've been me. It should've been me. It should've been me. It should've been me. It should've –." Quatre rocked rhythmically as he repeated the words again and again. Heero was about to try to approach Quatre a second time when he heard shuffling behind him. He exited the hallway he was in through the door in the direction he thought the sound had come from. The door led him into an unbelievably large kitchen. Once inside the kitchen, the sound of soft humming reached his ears. He edged cautiously around the enormous counter and caught sight of Trowa sitting on the floor, twiddling a knife in his fingers. Scarlet blood stained both the blade and his fingertips. He was staring absent mindedly at the metal, softly humming a haunting melody. Heero raised a questioning eyebrow. Should he stop Trowa? He decided that he shouldn't allow Trowa to further harm himself. He moved forward to take the knife and Trowa didn't resist. However, when his fingers closed around the handle, Trowa refused to let go of the knife. Using all his strength, Heero attempted to take the knife again but he just couldn't pry it from Trowa's hand. Heero thought this to be odd, to say the least, but what he considered even stranger was the fact that Trowa wouldn't even look up at him. He had also continued to hum that same melancholy tune the whole time they had wrestled over the knife. Heero suddenly released the knife as a cold wave of realization swept over him – Trowa had gone insane too.

          "Trowa, can you hear me?" Heero called. Trowa's eyes stayed locked on the knife.

_Soon they will all know what I can do…what I am capable of...they cannot stop me…_

          Heero grunted with effort as he hoisted Trowa to his feet. He more or less dragged him back into the hallway where Quatre still sat and sat him down near the trembling boy. He stood there and observed the two of them for a moment. They didn't seem to recognize him or each other. He didn't know what to think. The only rational thought that would come to his mind was that they needed help. If they weren't able to think, they wouldn't be able to pilot their Gundams which was not acceptable. After awhile he realized that there was another pilot he needed to find – Wufei. He had merely found both Trowa and Quatre by coincidence; he might not have the same luck in finding Wufei. A loud scream broke into his thoughts. Perhaps he _would have luck finding Wufei after all. He followed the sound but soon found himself stuck at an intersection of corridors. He didn't know which way the sound had come from. As luck would have it, another pained cry echoed from one of the halls. This was followed by loud, angry swearing which further aided in Heero's locating of Wufei. He found him curled into a fetal position on the floor of the conservatory, cursing obscenely and holding his stomach. Heero hoped that Wufei was still in his right mind but the way he was acting was shattering his hopes quickly. He stood over Wufei and attempted to talk to him._

          "Are you alright, Wufei?" he asked. Though his voice carried no emotion, he was a bit worried. If Wufei had gone crazy and he should lose his mind too, there wouldn't be anyone to pilot any of the Gundams. That, of course, would not be good. Wufei didn't respond to his question. He only curled up tighter into his protective ball and spat more acidic curse words. Just as he had suspected, Wufei had also become mentally incapacitated. With mild resistance from Wufei, he lifted the boy into his arms. Wufei clung to him firmly, resembling a frightened child which, in essence, he was. Heero took Wufei back to the place he had left Quatre and Trowa and not surprisingly, found that they were both still there. He sat Wufei down near Trowa and watched as he turned to the wall and curled up once again. Heero sat in front of his three copilots and tried to think of a way to help them. After awhile he still hadn't come up with any good ideas and he was starting to get frustrated. He soon found himself rocking violently back and forth. He gasped and stopped himself immediately. '_I can't let my mind go.' he told himself. An idea came to him. He could call someone. Then he shook his head as he remembered that there wasn't any electricity. But wasn't there? How could he know for sure that the power was really out? It seemed to him that the only sure way to know was to try what he had thought of. He got up and walked into an adjacent room. There was a phone in it, just as he had thought. He went to the phone and turned it on. The vid-screen remained black and he didn't hear a dial tone. '__It's just Duo trying to make me think it's not on.' he reasoned. He was about to give the number when the screen lit up. Duo appeared in front of him._

          "What's up, Hee-chan?" Duo giggled. Heero scowled at the grinning image before him.

          "Duo, you have to stop." he growled.

          "Oh, but I'm having too much fun to stop." Duo whined, feigning sorrow. He chuckled briefly then sighed. "There _is a way to make me stop, you know." _

          "What is it?"

          "I've told you countless times. There's only one simple thing that you have to do and then you'll be free."

          "Tell me!"

          "You have to forget." Heero rolled his eyes at this statement. '_Not this again…' he grumbled inwardly. Without warning, Duo's hand shot through the screen, grabbed the front of Heero's shirt and pulled him through. Heero landed hard on his stomach, nearly getting the wind knocked out of him. The deafening roar of mobile suit engines filled his ears. He looked up to see his Gundam, Wing Zero, locked in battle with Duo's Gundam, Deathscythe. Duo's voice boomed out over the grassy field Heero was laying on._

          "And now, witness the fall of the mighty winged Gundam, Zero!" he announced. Heero's eyes widened in horror as the glowing scythe came down on his Gundam. There was a flash of white light as the weapon made contact.

          "NO!" Heero cried. He leapt to his feet and ran for the fighting Gundams but was stopped by a huge gust of wind. He was powerless to stop the destruction of his Gundam now. He could only watch as the top half of it slid to the ground, its massive weight making the earth tremble, and the bottom half fell to its knees then joined its other half on the ground. Heero trembled with rage.

          "I will kill you for this!!" he screamed, not realizing what he was saying. Duo responded with a hearty laugh.

          "I'm already dead, you idiot, thanks to _you!" The wind passed and Heero bolted for the Gundam that he knew he was no match for without his own. Hands appeared from nowhere and caught hold of his arms. He was yanked back violently. His back thumped against cold steel._

          "Let go of me!" Heero snarled as he fought the grips of the mysterious hands. Now the sounds of voices came to him.

          "Don't let him seize…"

          "He's too strong…"

          "Somebody get some valium!"

          "He might not make it this time…" These were just a few of the things that were said. Heero's eyes snapped open, though he hadn't even realized they were closed. He was staring into the faces of nearly a dozen surgeons all of which looked horrified. He had to squint because the light they were using was shining directly on his face. Cold air blew on his face making him notice the oxygen mask strapped to his head. A scalpel cut into his chest and he did something completely alien to him – he cried out in pain.

          "Oh God, he's _awake!!" one of the surgeons screamed in panic. Just then a new voice rang out._

          "Quiet!" the voice yelled. Silence swept over the room. The face belonging to the voice leaned forward into Heero's vision. Half of the face was covered by a blue surgical mask but the large violet eyes were all too familiar. In fact they were _deathly familiar._

          "Hello, Heero." Duo said through the mask. "Do you remember me?"

          "Duo…" Heero gasped. Even with the mask on Heero could tell that Duo had begun to smile.

          "Well, that's too bad." Duo held up a shiny scalpel. "I might as well have a little fun then." Heero tried to threaten Duo but no sound came out of his mouth. Duo lowered the scalpel and sliced through Heero's flesh. Heero fought against the restraints holding him down with everything he had in him. He squeezed his eyes shut and strained every muscle in his body. He suddenly became aware of the restraints tightening around him. He stopped struggling briefly and reopened his eyes. He was in complete darkness but there was definitely something wrapped around him and there was still something very sharp digging into his skin. He scanned the area around himself and caught a glint of purple in the darkness. A highly recognizable hissing sound filled his ears. Heero opened his mouth to speak but before he could utter a sound he found himself staring into large yellow eyes with slit pupils. The enormous cobra hissed fiercely, its eyes glowing a deep shade of purple. Then it rose above Heero's head and fanned out its wing-like skin flaps. The snake opened its huge jaws and to Heero's surprise, pulled the corners of its mouth back and up into a hideous smile. Duo's voice filled the vast abyss, now sounding harsh and malicious, and each word that it spoke seemed to echo though there were no walls for it to reverberate off of.

          "Will you accept Death when it comes for you?" Duo asked. "Or will you run from it like a frightened child?"

          "I'm not afraid of you." Heero growled through gritted teeth. Duo let out a long, loud hiss then chuckled a moment.

          "It is better to live having had fun, than to live having had none. For Death comes sooner for others than some; sooner than soon can possibly come." he sneered. Duo tightened his coils even more, somewhat restricting Heero's intake of air. Heero noticed a slight pain in the side of his neck but chose to ignore it for a moment.

          "Duo…" he began. Duo cut him off before he could finish his sentence.

          "Are you ready to join me?" he demanded. Heero stared into the hate-filled eyes of the serpent. The day of Duo's death played again and again in his mind. If only he had acted sooner…he could have saved Duo. But he hadn't and Duo was gone forever. Duo was gone forever… Heero's head dropped and all he could feel was pain and grief. But then something happened. Something stirred in his mind. He raised his head slowly to glare directly into the eyes of the snake.

          "No." he said. He said it calmly and quietly. He said it without emotion but it carried such a profound message that the snake's eyes actually widened in surprise. "No," Heero continued, light beginning to shine once again in his tired eyes. "I will never join you. I will _never become what you have become. I will __never…ever…forget who my friends are. And I won't ****__ever forget…who ****__I am." The monster that was Duo drew back in both shock and anger._

          "Fool…" was the only word he could choke out.

          "I know that I won't be able to escape death when it's my time to go and I won't try to. But when I do die, I will remember those who stood by my side and who helped me – unlike you." The cobra's face contorted into an enraged grimace.

          "You will pay _dearly for those words." Duo hissed. The monstrous reptile struck but just before its gleaming fangs were about to sink into Heero's flesh, Heero thought the snake changed back into Duo. A look of sorrow was eminent in his features. He could clearly see Duo mouthing his name – then there was only darkness._

***

          Two nurses clad in starched white hospital uniforms strolled down the hallway of the Green Peaks Mental Institution. One had shoulder length, light brown hair and a sparkling name tag that read 'Jennie'. The other had long black hair but its length was concealed by the tight bun it was pulled back into. Her name tag was a bit less shiny and clearly old and worn. It displayed the name Sandra. She also looked a bit older and wiser than her companion.

          "…And so they ended up here. That, my friend, concludes the story of 'The Five'." Sandra was saying. A confused expression crossed Jennie's face.

          "But you said that only _four of them lived. Why do you call them 'The Five'?"_

          "Well, they all have hallucinations about the fifth one, the one that died. They all 'talk' to that one so it's like he's there with them." Jennie tilted her head back slightly as if to help absorb the information and made a small humming sound.

          "Do you…do you think I could…_see them?" she asked out of the blue. Sandra frowned slightly at this._

          "Are you sure you want to? They aren't like the other milder patients here – they're really very dangerous." Sandra warned.

          "Well now that you've told me all about them…I just _have to see what they look like."_

          "Alright," Sandra said with a slow nod. "Don't say I didn't warn you though." Sandra led Jennie down a few more corridors, each one darker and more heavily barricaded than the last. Finally they came to a thick door made of Gundanium alloy that was riddled with locks and chains. Jennie's marine blue eyes widened considerably at this sight.

          "Is this where you keep them? Is this where you keep those poor, defenseless little boys locked away?!" she demanded, her voice raising an octave with every word. Sandra smirked at Jennie's words.

          "They may be poor little boys but they are by no means defenseless. They've killed and hospitalized more of this hospital's staff than you'll ever know. That's part of the reason you were even hired." Sandra stepped forward and held out her pass for a machine to scan. The machine beeped approval and the two attendants waited for several doors to unlock and open. Afterward, they stepped cautiously inside the room and the doors slid back into place. Jennie jumped as the last lock slammed to a stop.

          "Why did the doors lock again!?!" she practically screamed. Sandra sighed at the young girl's stupidity.

          "If the boys get loose and attack us at least they can't get out of this room. To the government, one old hag of a nurse and one airhead of a nurse is a small price to pay to ensure that the world stays safe – from certain things, anyway." Sandra moved into the center of the room and clicked on a dim light. She used a remote to turn it on; it was embedded in a 3 inch thick layer of plastic and was protruding directly out of the ceiling so that no wire was exposed. Jennie now saw three of the former Gundam pilots and another door. They were all strapped to revolving beds but none of them looked remotely dangerous to Jennie.

          "Why do you keep them all in one room together?" the young nurse inquired.

          "I can't begin to describe what happened the last time someone tried separating them. It's strange, though – when they're all together they don't even acknowledge each other, but when someone tries to separate them they go crazy. Oops! No pun intended." Sandra strolled calmly toward a small blonde boy near the far corner of the room. She reached out slowly to pat his head. He leaned away from her hand and tried to scream but there was a gag over his mouth.

          "How's my favorite patient today? Are you okay, Quatre?" she cooed in a soft voice. Quatre squeezed his eyes shut as if in pain while Sandra stroked his hair. Jennie edged closer, seeing that Quatre wasn't one to attack a person.

          "He…he doesn't look so scary…" Jennie said, her trembling voice barely above a whisper. She stretched a shaking hand out to pet Quatre.

          "DON'T DO IT!!!" Sandra barked, snatching Jennie's wrist violently. Jennie let out a small yelp.

          "He doesn't know you and if he feels threatened…you could never imagine…" Sandra growled darkly. "Don't **_EVER underestimate any of them. _****_EVER. That's what the last girl in your position did. As you can see, she isn't with us anymore." After saying this Sandra turned back to Quatre to calm him; he had been frightened by her yelling at Jennie. Jennie, now shivering uncontrollably, backed away from both Sandra and Quatre – and nearly bumped right into another ex-pilot across from them. She stopped when she heard his breathing and she whipped around to see who was behind her. Hollow, dark eyes met hers. His shoulder length black hair was loose and hanging wildly around his head. It had formerly been held back by a rubber band – a rubber band that now held some unfortunate nurse's throat shut forever. The attendants had thought the rubber band was neither large enough nor had the stretch capacity to fit around a person's neck – they had thought wrong. This boy also had a gag over his mouth but he made no sounds as he stared at the scared young nurse. This only proved to scare Jennie even more. She jumped at the sound of Sandra's voice._**

          "I'd stay away from him if I were you. He's not too fond of us females." Jennie thought to herself that she would stay away from him anyway; his eyes seemed to promise a horrible death to anyone who came near. Then her attention turned to another young man across from the second door. She walked over to him to examine him. He glanced at her, one of his emerald green orbs concealed by a long overhang of mahogany colored hair. The look in his eyes was somehow comforting and Jennie found herself beginning to smile. She couldn't tell whether or not the boy smiled back because he too had a piece of cloth tied over his mouth but she didn't care. She was lost in his eyes. Sandra's voice sounded right by Jennie's ear.

          "Yeah, people like to look in his eyes. A lot of people have been sent to their graves looking in his eyes. He's tricky, this one. He'll even talk to people like he's perfectly sane and the minute they let their guard down…"

          "Why do they kill so much?" Jennie asked.

          "Well part of the reason is the fact that they were all soldiers in the big war."

          "Do you mean the war that's being fought _now?"_

          "Yep, that's the one I'm talking about. People say the other reason has to do with the one who died. His nickname or other personality was 'Shinigami', the God of Death. They say that Shinigami stole their minds and souls and has them working for him now." Jennie opened her mouth to speak but another voice cut her off.

          "That isn't true." the voice said firmly. Both Sandra and Jennie spun around to see who had spoken. They saw a heavily shadowed figure standing in front of the second door.

          "I didn't want them to remember me that way…but they couldn't see past their own guilt…" The voice was distant and quiet, almost as if it wasn't even there, but it was clearly male. Jennie nearly fainted but Sandra stayed strong.

          "Sir!" she called. "You're not allowed to be in here without a pass, sir." The figure didn't respond. Sandra moved swiftly and with purpose towards him. She reached out to grab his shoulder but her hand touched only cold air as the shadow vanished, dissipated to the corners of imagination. The sound of chains rattling floated out of the room behind the second door. Without hesitation, Sandra waved her pass at a second scanner and waited for the door to open. The room inside was dark and chilly, despite the thick padding on all the walls, the ceiling and the floor. Jennie peeped over Sandra's shoulder and her eyes widened as they adjusted to the light. There was the same phrase ripped into every inch of the padding – 4-get.

          "Oh God…" Jennie gasped. The boy inside was chained to one of the walls but just barely. Numerous chains were broken. The boy's Prussian blue eyes were tired and empty; it was obvious that he hadn't slept for a long time. A tiny smile appeared on his face as he stood, causing the chains around his limbs to clink loudly.

          "He was here…" the boy said. His voice was frighteningly enthused. "He came back for me. I was his favorite, you know…but I let him be killed…I wonder if he ever forgave me…"

          "Heero, you just got out of surgery. You should be asleep." Sandra told the boy. He started to laugh. It was soft at first but then it grew louder, stronger and more crazed.

          "There was only one thing he wanted me to do, y'know!" Heero said nearly screaming but still smiling at the same time. He threw his head back and howled with mad laughter.

          "And what was that?" Sandra demanded, though her voice was beginning to tremble.

          "_FORGET!! FORGET, FORGET, FORGET, **FORGET!!!!!" Heero screamed the words at the top of his lungs, making the two nurses cringe in both pain and fear. Everyone else in the building that was Green Peaks mental Institute shuddered as the chilling word echoed through the halls – **__forget…_

_They say that until a person's forgotten_

_They're never really gone_

_But what do you do_

_When more than the person's memory is living on?_

_Forget_

*Whew! It took long enough! Well, I tried my best with this and I hope everyone liked the end! I did but that doesn't really count. So did Duo drive the pilots crazy or did their own guilt drive them to the brink of insanity? Or are they just so crazy that they only _think they're in a mental hospital? Hmm…it's something to ponder, isn't it? Please read my upcoming fic 'Virus'! See ya soon – Gundam Wing Imp. P.S. If you have any questions that really bother you, put them in a review and I'll try and get back to you. If I get enough, maybe I'll post the answers – well, it's an idea. ^_~\\//* _


	9. Wake Up, Zechs

I just felt like writing this little bonus chapter since nobody had any questions. I think you'll find this, um…interesting. O_O

9. Wake up, Zechs

          Zechs Marquise turned gently in his sleep. The morning sunlight pouring in through the window illuminated his silken threads of platinum blonde hair. It was actually rather late in the morning, 9:00 to be precise. He hadn't been sleeping well lately. This was the most he had slept in weeks but it wasn't refreshing or soothing, despite how at peace he seemed curled up under his OZ-colored blankets. He was indeed having a terrible nightmare but he was unable to wake himself. Visions of that boy…that beautiful boy… a gundam pilot, yes, but deserving of such a cruel death? No, he hadn't deserved that, not in the least. Why, then, had he killed him in such a manner? Why had he ended that boy's life? War…that was the reason. War was war and he was in a war. That boy had been his enemy. This was the only reasoning that had kept him sane since then. But now that reason didn't seem to be enough. Now that reason just didn't seem good enough, strong enough to be a reason for his actions at all. He exited his dream without warning. His eyes snapped open and shifted nervously almost as though he expected some invisible enemy to leap forth and steal his soul. The sight of his neat and orderly quarters comforted him and he felt the corners of his mouth pull into a tiny smile. Breathing a sigh of relief, he let his eyes close again for a last moment of blissful quiet before he would absolutely have to get up and get dressed. He rolled over onto his back as a timid knock sounded at his door.

          "Lieutenant Zechs, sir? Are you awake, sir?" Zechs chuckled at the wary voice of his dear friend Noin.

          "You sound different today, Noin." he mumbled sleepily. "I almost mistook you for a new recruit – I'm not used to hearing you sound so… unsure of yourself." Though Zechs' eyes were still closed, he knew Noin had begun to smile.

          "Oh, you think I sound unsure, huh?" The door squeaked lightly as Noin entered. "Well – huh? Oh my…"

          "What's the matter?" Zechs asked.

          "You didn't tell me you weren't…decent…" Zechs laughed again.

          "Oh Noin. You act as though I'm naked. And besides, I'm sill covered by the blankets." Noin began informing him of matters he needed to attend to that day. Zechs dozed off again, despite himself. He faintly heard Noin stop talking and drop the arm holding the list she had been reading from. He listened to her soft footsteps on the carpet moving closer to him. She called out to him in a quiet, mysterious sing-song voice.

          "Ze-echs…" she cooed. "Wake up, Zechs…" Zechs stirred slightly but continued to feign sleep. "Ze-echs…_Ze-echs…__wakkie, wakkie..." Zechs' eyebrows furrowed. Noin's voice had changed but it was still very familiar._

          "_Wake up, Zechs…" Zechs strained to recognize the voice. Then suddenly it dawned on him. '__That voice! It can't be-!' his mind screamed. His eyes opened like lightning. Violet orbs glinted from beneath the wide brim of a jet black baseball cap. A wide grin spread across the madman's face. A glare from the knife he held over his head caught Zechs' eye._

          "_It's time to go to sleep…forever…"_

*Okay but the eighth chapter was the real ending. Please don't get mad – I love Zechs just as much as the rest of you.*  


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